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blog tips

How I edit my blog photos

March 27, 2015March 26, 2015 Corinne 51 comments
How I edit my blog photos

editblogphotos

When taking blog photos, you should always aim to use the correct settings on your camera so you don’t need to edit once it’s uploaded.

Oh, okay. About that. Although I’m a lot better at using my camera than I was a year go, I’m not a professional photographer.

I’m just a girl living in England, where it’s sunny one minute and raining the next. I’m at a constant battle with natural light, rain, and dark, wintery evenings. So fuck that no editing shit. Sometimes it’s gotta be done.

Until about a year ago, I would upload raw photos straight onto my blog. Without even re-sizing or anything. Now, after reading thousands of blogs and writing hundreds of posts, I’ve started to get a feel for the type of photos I like.

So I edit them. So they’re like the type of photos I like. I wish I could edit other parts of my life like I can photos. It’d edit a smaller bottom and bigger lips. Winner.

When I upload my photos onto my computer, I sometimes adjust the levels, brightness, contrast and sharpness in iPhoto. Only a little tweak is needed with most photos.

But sometimes more drastic measures need to be taken. So I turn to PicMonkey.

PickMonkey is a free and easy web based photo editor.

All you do, is upload your photo, edit it, then download it to your computer again.

I have examples and everything. Woo.

How I edit photos.

Example 1.

The original photo:

The original Photo

In the below photo I clicked Auto Adjust to let PicMonkey do the work. This is an autocorrector that sometimes gets it very right, but sometimes can get it very wrong! In this case, it did a good job.

pic

In the next photo, I increased the sharpness. This is good if you want to make parts of the photo clearer. It also can save you having to re-take photos if they’re slightly out of focus:

pic3

In this next photo, I reverted it back to the original, then I increased the brightness and applied one of the many filters. The one I like is one I use the most and is called Tranquil:

pic4

The main reason I use PicMonkey is when my photos look dull. I like photos to look bright, airy and crisp. My most used features on PicMonkey are:

  • Auto Adjust.
  • Adjusting exposure (shadows, highlights, contrast, brightness.
  • Colour (saturation and temperature – especially for food photos).
  • Sharpen.
  • Filters (mainly Tranquil, Dusk and Intrepid).

Example 2.

The next example is a simple, quick edit. I wasn’t happy with the dullness on the photo, so adjusted the exposure to get the type of photo I was happy with.

You can easily change an okay photo into a pretty decent one..

DSC_0204DSC_0204

Example 3.

This next example is a pretty terrible photo. The sun was being a dick that day.

It kept coming out then going behind a cloud. Ideally, I would have like to have taken these photos again, but it’s not always an option.

I managed to take the awful photo to something blog worthy. Though the outcome is a bit grainy, I do like it. Grainy is a bit bloggy, don’t you think?

DSC_1853DSC_1853

Best thing to do is have a play around and see what type of features work for you. Not everyone likes the same type of editing and some people don’t like to edit photos at all. The important thing is to just have fun.

When you’ve got a photo that you’re proud of and can’t wait to publish on your blog, that’s when you know it’s right for you.

How do you edit your blog photos?

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    About Corinne

    About Corinne

    Hi! I'm a 30-something lifestyle blogger from York, talking blog tips, lifestyle and navigating being a new mum!

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    51 comments

    1. Anca says:
      March 27, 2015 at 7:41 am

      Very interesting post. I edit my photos too, I adjust the brightness, crop if it’s necessary. I even remove stuff from pictures, like an empty can from a field/street.

      Reply
    2. Kristy says:
      March 27, 2015 at 8:05 am

      I love having a nose at how people edit their photos so really enjoyed this. I’ve currently been playing around with Lightroom the last couple of weeks and have been seriously impressed, so impressed that I’m tempted to do the monthly subscription once my trial is up. Prior to this I was using Picasa for any small touch ups.

      Kristy | http://www.thevioletblonde.com

      Reply
    3. Lucy says:
      March 27, 2015 at 8:46 am

      All great tips picmonkey is superb tool it definitely helps. Your pictures are always great so I doubt editing them is too much of a chore Lucy x

      Reply
    4. Laura says:
      March 27, 2015 at 9:42 am

      Awh this is just what I needed. thank you.

      Reply
    5. sara mcavoy says:
      March 27, 2015 at 10:27 am

      Great post. at the moment i’m mostly uploading pictures without editing them. With a bit more experience and time I’m hoping to make my photos look a bit better!
      xx

      Reply
    6. Candice says:
      March 27, 2015 at 10:38 am

      Thank you for sharing !! I love picmonkey but never played around with it that much

      CANDICE | BEAUTY CANDY LOVES
      ♥♥♥

      Reply
    7. Kyle Rodriguez says:
      March 27, 2015 at 10:44 am

      These are really helpful tips, so thanks for sharing! <3 Photos can really make or break a blog.

      Reply
    8. Naomi says:
      March 27, 2015 at 10:55 am

      Um YUM the food looks fantastic haha! And I love PicMonkey, my favorite editing program!

      Reply
    9. Jackie Harrison says:
      March 27, 2015 at 10:56 am

      This is very helpful and great job in giving us detail information. Thanks. Have a lovely weekend.

      Reply
    10. KizzyDoll says:
      March 27, 2015 at 11:16 am

      Having great photos on a blog is very important. I like pic monkey sometimes!! I do most of my editing though in photoshop if I need, but I try and keep them as un-edited as possible!! Happy Friday xx

      Reply
    11. whuddupartix says:
      March 27, 2015 at 11:44 am

      What a useful post! I usually use photoscape to edit my photos. Might try picmonkey one day!

      Artika
      http://whuddupartix.blogspot.sg/

      Reply
    12. Lady parisienne says:
      March 27, 2015 at 11:50 am

      Nice post, for my phto I don’t edit them this is Hugo’s job!
      Have a great week end

      Reply
    13. Amy says:
      March 27, 2015 at 12:18 pm

      I use Picmonkey too! Such a great free editor and I love all their filters. xx

      Reply
    14. Rowena @ rolala loves says:
      March 27, 2015 at 2:38 pm

      I usually do my editing in Photoshop but I try my best to get the image right in camera by always shooting in full manual so I can get away with minimal processing.

      Reply
    15. Tess @ FitBits says:
      March 27, 2015 at 3:22 pm

      Ooh this is great, I use Pic Monkey too, and Pixlr which is like a basic online version of photoshop.

      Most of the time though, I just upload pics from my phone. Got a new macbook now so this is gonna change!

      Reply
    16. Tyana says:
      March 27, 2015 at 3:24 pm

      Love this, I def need to do this

      check out my newest post
      xx
      Tyana

      Reply
    17. Kelsey&Kenecha says:
      March 27, 2015 at 3:26 pm

      I edited mine just a tad too but I love to see the sharpness and clearness in the photos and it makes it more appealing x

      Florals&Smiles
      Twitter

      Reply
    18. Shireen L. Platt says:
      March 27, 2015 at 3:36 pm

      This is definitely an interesting post, Corinne. I do adjust my pictures with iPhoto but only for Brightness and very rarely, I’ll hit Contrast once at most twice when I need the picture to stand out more. I never touch on anything else. I personally find there are a couple of blogs which did too much to their pictures that the colour of the product doesn’t even look the same anymore to the point it becomes misleading. I did stop following them. :-/

      Shireen | Reflection of Sanity

      Reply
    19. Hush Hush says:
      March 27, 2015 at 6:36 pm

      I try to avoid editing but as you said sometimes it’s necessary for achieving desired look.

      hushhush990.blogspot.com

      Reply
    20. ANNICK says:
      March 27, 2015 at 8:28 pm

      you’ve got great editing skills! go you x

      http://only4feet9.blogspot.com

      Reply
    21. Elizabeth Rebecca says:
      March 27, 2015 at 8:50 pm

      Very jealous of how good your edits are.

      Reply
    22. Nichole says:
      March 27, 2015 at 9:35 pm

      Color is one of the biggest things I edit in photos! I absolutely love picmonkey it’s a great (and easy to use) program!

      Reply
    23. Vanessa says:
      March 27, 2015 at 10:51 pm

      Wow, looks great. ^^
      Have a nice weekend…

      Reply
    24. India says:
      March 27, 2015 at 11:07 pm

      When I increase the sharpness it doesn’t go anywhere near as good as yours does wahhhhhh. You can do mine from now on 🙂

      India | Touchscreens & Beautyqueens

      Reply
    25. Caro* says:
      March 28, 2015 at 12:02 am

      Hello pretty Corinne, how are you ?
      I have not the time to work on my photos but your post is very interesting. The result is beautiful.
      Kisses 🙂

      Reply
    26. Emily says:
      March 28, 2015 at 7:48 am

      Great post! I use PicMonkey too, I think it’s fab! Do you just use the free version? Lovely pictures x

      emily x ❤ |

      Reply
    27. Emilie says:
      March 28, 2015 at 8:29 am

      I’ve only just started using my OH’s SLR, so I’m really interested in making my pictures look beautiful. I’ve heard a few people use PicMonkey so I think I’ll have to check it out this weekend!

      Your pictures always look gorgeous!

      Reply
    28. Xuvious says:
      March 28, 2015 at 9:06 am

      I tend to edit my photos a lot (mainly exposure) to correct it. I take photos indoors in natural light and sometimes it’s just not enough.
      Great post Corinne! xx

      Reply
    29. Victoria says:
      March 28, 2015 at 3:29 pm

      Editing for me always depends on what camera I use. If I use my own one that doesn’t do Raw photos then I’m stuck with using Fotor. I don’t really like using editing software on line as I always think the quality diminishes. The best photos I have on my blog are ones where I’ve borrowed my brothers DSLR or where he’s taken the photos of me on it. I then let my brother do the editing of these and he uses Photoshop Lightroom. I love Lightroom as even me, who has no idea what they are doing, can edit them to look good. I think my only problem is picking the wrong photos to edit. What I think is good. my brother doesn’t and I trust his judgement better than my own. I’ll get there one day though…probably the day he stops being lovely to do it for me 😛 xxx

      Reply
    30. Nottooseriousblog says:
      March 28, 2015 at 8:11 pm

      Sometimes I use http://www.fotor.com/ 🙂

      Reply
    31. Say Cheesy Cake (@saycheesycake) says:
      March 28, 2015 at 11:40 pm

      Wow Corrine, thank you so much for sharing your tips and tricks on how you edit your photos. Very helpful.

      Jo | Say Cheesy Cake

      Reply
    32. Arianne says:
      March 29, 2015 at 5:58 am

      I use Picmonkey as well and depending on the color of the photo, I usually neutralize the color. And always increase the Clarity. I found Sharpen doesn’t really do anything for me. I also increase the brightness, highlight, shadow, and contrast 🙂 that’s about it.

      Reply
    33. Paulina says:
      March 29, 2015 at 2:32 pm

      Good tips when you want to edit photos without a big hassle! Great job!

      Paulina

      shenanigan-ska.blogspot.com

      Reply
    34. Paula says:
      March 29, 2015 at 9:40 pm

      You’ve got like, a PROPER camera 😉
      I’m just using an LG G2 smartphone. I run all my pictures through my Cameras editing program by Google, I do try to get heaps of shots first so I can pick and choose the best one later.
      I then use Fotor Stitch to stick them together sometimes.

      ♥ Paula Shoe Fiend.
      http://shoe-fiend.blogspot.co.nz/

      Reply
    35. sgrmse. says:
      March 30, 2015 at 5:05 am

      I do all my photo taking and editing on the iPhone! Nifty piece of technology that is! I loved what you did in Example 3. I have such a weakness for bokeh!!!

      Also, I’m headed to the UK in summer. Is York very far from London? Shall we meet?

      Reply
    36. kimberly says:
      March 30, 2015 at 5:25 pm

      I try to make time to edit my photos, however sometimes it just takes too long.

      Reply
    37. Deimante says:
      March 30, 2015 at 5:48 pm

      Your pictures look great! I don’t think I’ve ever uploaded any photos to my blog without adjusting them. I use Adobe lightroom – which is awesome for bulk editing! I also use Canva to great my blogpost title image. Never used pic monkey before but it looks awesome!

      Reply
    38. Deimante says:
      March 30, 2015 at 5:48 pm

      Greasy?! I meant create 🙂

      Reply
    39. Liakada Travel says:
      March 31, 2015 at 5:32 pm

      I love photo editing! I also use PicMonkey, and sometimes I use ipiccy if I want to make myself look a bit more tanned (eeek did I just admit that?). I downloaded aviary on my phone the other day which is great for doing black and white with one other colour, e.g. a red bus in a black and white street.

      Ash | Liakada Travel

      Reply
    40. Hannah says:
      April 1, 2015 at 12:13 pm

      This was really interesting, its nice to see the shots before and be able to know other bloggers do make tweaks to their pictures before they go live. I used iphoto for a while but like you I’ve just started to get a feel for a sort of ‘style’ for my photos and now I’ve moved to photoshop.

      Reply
      1. Corinne says:
        April 1, 2015 at 11:20 pm

        I’d love to get back into photoshop. I used to swear by it in my teens.

        Reply
    41. Emma T says:
      April 1, 2015 at 10:30 pm

      Picmonkey is my friend too. I usually do basic edit (rotate, autocorrect) in Windows picture editor (or whatever it’s called), then resize and do any additional edits in picmonkey. The resize in the windows version doesn’t actually compress or resize correctly I’ve found!

      Reply
      1. Corinne says:
        April 1, 2015 at 11:19 pm

        Ahh! Is there an export option? That’s how I resize in iPhoto!

        Reply
    42. Jessica says:
      April 4, 2015 at 4:55 pm

      I love PicMonkey and it’s all I ever use too. However I don’t change the sharpness or add filters – I’ll have to experiment a little more

      http://www.jessicainyourear.com

      Reply
    43. Ashutosh says:
      September 10, 2015 at 12:46 pm

      Seems you have god gifted skill of editing. Really wonderful!

      Reply
    44. Hannah Nicklin says:
      December 5, 2015 at 8:54 am

      Really interesting post and so useful to have the before/after photos 🙂 I use photoshop but when trying to edit hundreds of photos show quick it can be so time consuming so I may look into PicMonkey 🙂 xxxx

      Reply
      1. Corinne says:
        December 7, 2015 at 2:44 pm

        Oh I’m not surprised! Photo shop is quite complicated!

        Reply
    45. Bee says:
      December 6, 2015 at 11:13 pm

      Some awesome tips here! I use fotor and pretty much use that for the same things. I love bright photos.
      Bee | QueenBeady.com

      Reply
      1. Corinne says:
        December 7, 2015 at 2:30 pm

        Bright is best ❤️

        Reply
    46. Jabi says:
      December 8, 2015 at 6:03 am

      I also use picmonkey!! I never do before and after thou to check on the improvement!! I def need to do that!

      Great post!!

      xx

      Reply
      1. Corinne says:
        December 8, 2015 at 7:38 pm

        Yeah it’s a great way to see the difference!

        Reply

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    I’m Corinne, a 30-something lifestyle blogger from York, talking blog tips, lifestyle and navigating being a new mum!

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